Virginians who commented on a new management plan for the George Washington National Forest support a proposed ban on a much-criticized type of natural gas drilling in the forest’s one million acres, an analysis of more than 53,000 public submissions concludes.

The proposed ban involves horizontal drilling, or hydraulic fracturing, which pumps chemicals, sand and water into shale to separate natural gas from rock. Critics say the process threatens groundwater supplies and air quality.

The analysis of the public comments was conducted by the Shenandoah Valley Network and the Land, Air, Water Stewardship Action Group, both opponents of the drilling technique often called “fracking.” Of the 6,700 comments received from Virginia residents, 70% supported the ban, their analysis found.

Approximately half of the George Washington National Forest sits atop the Marcellus shale formation, which contains a vast deposit of natural gas running from upstate New York to the Virginias. The formation’s richest deposits are generally believed to be in states such as West Virginia and Pennsylvania, rather than in states on the fringes, including Virginia.